in only his 12th fight , Degales first fight back after Losing to George Groves was a challenge for 29-1 Pitr*Wilczewskis European title .* I though he put in an incredible effort to beat a guy of that quality for the EBU title , he took some hard shots and had to fight every second of the 12 rounds .* I thought he showed fantastic maturity and good punch resistance in a few sticky moments , he worked diligently to the body and his overall work rate was very impressive . Amazingly he still managed to draw some criticism from certain industry "professionals" for his performance . here's a little look at what some other top pros and stand-out amateurs where doing in their 12th fight ... Muhammad Ali - 10 rounder v Don Walker (12-6-2). Lennox Lewis - 8 rounder v Ossie Ocasion (22-9-1). Floyd Mayweather - 8 rounder v Angelo Nunes (14-11-3). Pacman - 10 rounder v Rustico Tomecampo (11-4-4)* Andre Ward - 8 rounder v Dhafir Smith (16-15-5)* Shane Mosley - 10 rounder v John Bryant (8-7-2)* Saul "Canelo" Alvarez - 10 rounder v Victor Marquez (2-8-0)* Needless to say , none of them had won a recognised title , or fought for one , or fought a ranked opponent .* maybe people should cut Degale some slack ?
exactly.... this guy is so much more experienced than degale. he clearly studied james and made it hard for him. degale was unusually sloppy but he still came through and showed great bottle... i still think he makes it big in the sport!
only to play devils advocate...29-1 looks nice...until you see who he has beaten...his resume is HORRIBLE....its a good win, but nothing to go over board with ...whats Piotr biggest win against? no one..his biggest fight? curtis stevens..who stevens blasted out in 3 rounds its a nice win, but lets not comparing him to great fighters who have shitty 12th fight opponents..you left out Holyfield..12th fights..WBA title 15 round win over Dwight Qawi
no but he was just showing why people shouldn't write him off. i don't think he was trying to compare him to ward and co.
Often think people forget how fledgling DeGales career is. I do think he needs to slow down a bit though. He's not ready for the step up yet, few fighters in history have been after 12 fights. Another 4-5 fights at Euro level, then maybe.
its a solid win and not the usual super crap guys fight even in their 20th fight these days, so yeah good win....im still not sold on a european title being much of a super prize , but its a stepping stone...
yeah i agree, he definitely needs to improve though. maybe even take a step back and fight someone like kenny anderson or something. he needs time in the gym to work on things! like most people i think a change in trainer would help. he's arguably the most talented young fighter in britain but has one of the least established trainers.
Euro title? Pfft. Slacker. In as many bouts, Beibut Shumenov has made a few defenses of a WORLD title. :deal
true...only prob when you win a fight like this, and with only the handful of fights...you might be right and have to take a lesser opponent next...but youre expected to do bigger and better things..he wasnt scared to lose his "O" and his wasnt scared to risk another loss...so, thats nice to see
yep and I think Oscar fought for the title in his 12 also , I'm not comparing him to those guys , although since you used that as and example it was and Oscars first fight at the full distance , this degales 4th 12 rounder . Belittling Piotrs record kind of proves my point about the Degale criticism bro . I would say in Smith , Groves and Piotr W , Degale has fought an insane level of competition for a 12 fight novice .
decent win for degale..but i wouldnt go shouting about it..he looked very ordinary at times.and still dosnt look as if hel cut it at world level...hopefully he just had an off night
dude it was his 12th fight lol . if he had put some 7-14-4 can in a coma would that be worth shouting about ? because that's what those other guys I mentioned where doing .
It was a fantastic performance by J DeGale, and he has won a very good title. I wrote after the Groves loss that due to the nature of how the fight was, we are lucky to have 2 great SMW prospects, though both have proved to be beyond that. Both have been willing to take tough matches early in their careers and both are doing well.
you can look at it how ever you want..he keeps talking about world title shots.and hes no where near ready hel get an ass made out of himself..the guy he was fighting has a really padded record which has already been pointed out and degale struggled at times when in theory he should be dominating..great that he won the euro title tho..will make the grooves rematch all the tastier..
